


Husband

by untokki



Series: Old Dragon [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Canon Related, Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 08:36:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13498464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/untokki/pseuds/untokki
Summary: Yifan fell for a boy who made him instant noodles at two in the morning every day.





	Husband

**Author's Note:**

> this is a prequel to [old dragon](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13256994)  
> 老龙 lǎo long  
> "old dragon"  
> 老公 lăo gong  
> "husband"

Yifan almost tripped on his loose shoelaces the first time he entered the convenience store, and only righted himself by holding onto the edge of the automatic door. When he heard a giggle from the back of the store, and looked up to find a brunet boy covering his mouth behind the cashier counter, Yifan straightened his back and ran his hand through his black locks, now feeling a little self-conscious about the length. With his beaten up tennis shoes and haphazardly thrown together outfit, and his greasy hair sitting on his shoulders, he probably looked a little homeless.

It was his fault for being in such disarray--he had probably gotten less than six hours of sleep for that whole week.

He walked down the aisles of the small shop without so much as a glance to the only cashier there, who seemed more interested in sorting the displays on the counter, anyway. 

He picked out a cold water bottle and a cup of instant noodles, before passing the aisles with less desirable food and placing his items on the counter. He startled the boy behind it, who was leaning his chin on his hand and spinning the rack of gum on the countertop. The smaller boy scanned the items silently, until he looked up at Yifan with a smile. His dimple seemed so out of place for such a dingy little store. “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

Yifan merely nodded his head and pulled his wallet out of his sweatpants, waiting for the cashier to tell him the total.

The brunet tilted his head as he glanced at the cash register screen, telling the numbers and holding out his hand for the bills. As he stuffed them into the tray, he looked up at Yifan. “Were you okay, when you walked in? You’re not drunk, are you?” he asked.

Yifan felt his eyebrows furrow, and he knew the image intimidated the small cashier by the way he quickly turned his gaze down to the opened register. He shut it and was about to apologize, when Yifan spoke up.

“I tripped.”

“Oh.”

Yifan took his purchase and kept his eyes on the other for just a moment more before turning away, scanning over the tiny shop for the hot water station, so he could make his little dinner. When he didn’t find it, he turned his head over his shoulder to question the cashier. “Where can I make this?”

The cashier stood up straight and seemed surprised by the question, immediately holding out his hand for the cardboard cup. “I can make it for you.”

Yifan handed over the noodles and watched the lithe boy move behind the counter, where he quickly took the kettle of water and poured it into the bowl. He looked back at Yifan, who had situated himself at the small, plastic table by the entrance of the store. “Would you like the soup or do you want it drained?”

“Drained,” Yifan said softly, crossing his arms over the table and leaning forward.

It was silent for that time, with the exception of the cashier pouring the water into the trash and then setting the bowl onto the counter. He had even taken the liberty to break apart a pair of chopstick and set them over the rim of the bowl. When Yifan walked over to take his food, the boy smiled and bowed his head. “Enjoy.”

  
  


Yifan tied his shoes before stepping into the convenience store the next night, and was greeted with a cheery voice that welcomed him into the shop. He went through the same exact aisle and got the same exact meal, and was soon face to face with the same boy from the night prior. “You didn’t trip today,” the boy observed, smiling up at him before turning to prepare the noodles.

“I tied my shoes,” Yifan replied simply.

“So you wouldn’t embarrass yourself again?” 

“I wasn’t embarrassed.”

The cashier turned back, and his dimple dug miles into his cheek. He held up a pair of chopsticks, still in their paper sleeve, and grinned. “I know what embarrassment looks like.”

Yifan took his food with a scowl, and ignored the chopsticks in the shorter’s grasp for a pair from the box on the counter. He turned away and took his spot at that rickety table by the door, placing his feet on the chair across from him. When he broke the chopsticks apart, one side had a rather big piece of the other, and his scowl and eyebrows fell deeper. The cashier was laughing at his mistake, and Yifan turned his body away as he ate his noodles.

  
  


“You’ve come every night for the past week,” the cashier said one night after splitting the chopsticks perfectly down the middle, and handing the two pieces over to Yifan. “What kind of job do you have where your dinner is instant noodles at two in the morning?”

Yifan shrugged his shoulders and wasn’t going to answer the question, until the saw the way the smaller boy tilted his head like a cat, filled with curiosity. “I’m training,” Yifan left it at that and took his typical seat.

“Training for what?” the cashier asked, walking around the front of the counter, and plopping down into the seat across from Yifan. The gesture caused Yifan to turn frigid in his chair and straighten his back, pulling his cup of noodles closer to him on the table. The cashier had his chin resting on his folded hands, looking like whatever Yifan told him would make or break his day.

“I’m going to be a singer.”

“ _ Wow,  _ like Hangeng?” the cashier asked, his sparse eyebrows shooting up and his lips curling in a smile.

“I guess,” Yifan muttered, mixing the noodles with his chopsticks. He didn’t even know who that was.

“Are you going to be in a band? Do you have other people that you train with?”

“Why are you so interested in this?” Yifan questioned, not meaning for the bite to his words. The cashier leaned back and looking down at his lap, shrugging his shoulders. 

“I’ve always been interested in music. I just never really thought about making a career out of it.”

“What do you do? Or do you just work here?”

The question seemed to surprise the boy, and he sat up just a bit straighter. “I’m gonna be studying marketing when I enter university. I’m in my last year of high school now.”

“That sounds really boring,” Yifan said. He immediately wanted to take the words back into his mouth when he saw the cashier’s shoulder sag even more. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“Any career would be boring compared to what you’re gonna do, right?”

  
  


Yifan watched with furrowed eyebrows as the cashier moved behind the counter, taking in his thin arms and small torso. His hair met the middle of the back of his neck, and he could barely see the black roots mixing with the chocolate locks at the top of his head. He turned around and placed the cup on the counter, breaking the chopsticks like every other night. “It’s Yixing, by the way,” he said softly.

Yifan just stared at him, not touching his food and certainly not ending their eye contact. “What?”

Yixing, the cashier, gestured to the white name tag on the right side of the green apron he wore as his uniform. Sure enough, those two characters really said his name. “My name is Yixing. What’s yours?”

“Yifan,” he replied.

Yixing smiled softly and pushed the cup closer to Yifan. “I’m glad I get to know you as Yifan before they give you some dumb stage name.”

The taller actually chuckled at the comment, and nodded his head before taking the bowl into his hand. “I’m glad I don’t have to think of you as a random cashier anymore.”

  
  


“Do you sing or rap or dance?” Yixing asked, running his fingertip over the plastic white top of the table. Yifan had to swallow his food before answering, but it took him just a moment more so he could watch the patterns the smaller man was making on the table.

“I have to be able to do all three,” Yifan said, rubbing his lips with a napkin before crumbling it in his hand and tapping the tips of his fingers on the table as well. “My strong suit is rap.”

“Can I hear you someday?”

“You will. It’s not like I’m going through all of this for no one to hear me.”

Yixing smiled down at the table, nodding his head. “I’ll be your biggest fan, Yifan.”

“You’re gonna have some competition, I think.”

  
  


When Yifan came to the counter one night without anything in his hands, Yixing made a noise of confusion. “You’re not eating tonight?”

“I’m not too hungry,” Yifan admitted, looking down at the younger boy. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweats and peered down at the counter.

“Why did you come here then?”

“It would feel weird if I didn’t.”

Yixing laughed softly and pushed away from the counter, looking up at Yifan with big brown eyes that made the taller man feel weaker than he would have liked. He never looked into the other’s eyes for too long, and now that he was standing there like that, merely just staring at the brown irises, he felt something he had never felt for another boy before. He didn’t know how he felt about that sudden surge of emotions.

“Can I have your number?” Yifan asked without even thinking of the response he could get.

“My number?” Yixing nearly gasped at the question. He fumbled around behind the counter until he pulled out a blue ink pen, and he tore off a piece of a roll of receipt paper. He scribbled the digits onto the paper and slid it over to Yifan, a small smile on his face. “Do you even have time to talk to people?”

“I can make the time,” Yifan answered, though he didn’t even know if that was true.

Yixing looked like he was going to melt under his gaze, and at that moment, the younger boy’s dimple was more than just a feature on his face--it was a symbol that Yixing was beginning to feel the same way.

  
  


The first time Yifan saw Yixing out of his apron and nametag, and under the light of the sun rather than the fluorescent tubes of the convenience store, he felt as if he could cry. His hair literally glowed under the rays of the sun, his skin looked so healthy when he was in natural light. Yifan was sure his dimple would blind him if he stared for too long, but when that dip was present for their entire time together, he was unsure how to even react. “You look a lot better when your hair isn’t all over the place,” Yixing had told him when the sun was starting to set, and each of them would have to go their separate ways.

Immediately, the elder’s hand went up to his locks, dragging his long fingers through his hair with his brows furrowing. “They’ll be cutting it soon, I bet. They’ll do whatever they think looks good.”

“I think anything would look good,” Yixing smiled up at him, standing on his toes to pat the top of Yifan’s head. “Even if you were bald.”

  
  


When they officially started dating, and Yifan called Yixing his boyfriend for the first time, the smaller boy was immediately bashful. His face would redden whenever he found Yifan walking into the store, and he would stutter with his words when telling him the total. Yifan only ever chuckled at his sudden shy nature, as the younger was always the one more willing to speak. 

When they had their first kiss, it proved to Yifan that Yixing really was the more confident one between the couple. It also proved to him that the smaller male had never kissed anyone in his life, with the way his lips moved and the way his nose dug into the skin next to Yifan’s.  It was that kiss alone that led Yifan to think about kissing Yixing for the rest of his life.

  
  
  


Yifan almost tripped on his loose shoelaces upon entering the dressing room Yixing was given, and only righted himself by holding onto the edge of the wooden door. The display caused Yixing to pause buttoning his shirt, leaving the upper half of his chest bare, and Yifan could see the way it moved with the amount of laughter falling from his lips. “Why do you always come into my life tripping?” Yixing asked, his smile so wide that Yifan was sure it would split his pink lips.

“Because I fell for you?” Yifan asked, walking forward to pull the other into his arms. Yixing hit his chest the moment he was close enough to do so. Yifan only laughed and rubbed over the younger’s back. “Too cheesy?”

“Sounds like a song you would write for your millions of adoring fans.”

“I don’t have  _ millions  _ of fans.”

“You could. In the future.”

“No, I really don’t think so.”

Yixing pouted and hit his arm this time, stepping slightly out of his fiance’s hold. “Can’t you just take my compliment?”

“Since it’s from you, fine. You are my number one fan after all.”

  
  


Yixing was shivering during the entire ceremony, and Yifan really wanted to just take the other into his arms and hold him until he was warm again. He could only follow his wishes when they were told to kiss and seal it all, which they both immediately did with a smile. Yixing still had to stand on his toes to make it easier for their lips to meet, but Yifan bowed his head slightly to meet him halfway. 

When they separated, and Yifan pressed his forehead to Yixing’s, he heard a quiet whisper in his ear. “My  _ laogong _ .”


End file.
